When President Trump formulated his “American Energy Dominance” message, he may not have had the power of global oil and gas producers in mind. Europe’s Statoil is moving forward with its Empire offshore wind farm hard by the New York City shoreline, and now a unit of Royal Dutch Shell has acquired a major stake in the Tennessee-based solar developer Silicon Ranch.

As overseas global oil and gas companies plow more investment dollars into the U.S. renewable energy market, the Energy Dominance theme is getting muddied. The theme is generally understood to support U.S. fossil fuel development, but it’s difficult to make the pitch for “America First” when domestic energy assets are owned or leased by companies headquartered elsewhere. To make matters worse for the Trump Administration, the rise of renewable energy is putting the squeeze on fossil fuel production here in the U.S.

“Uncertainty is not helpful in any industry, and now we at least know what the rules are and can plan accordingly”

The news from Statoil and Shell is particularly interesting because both companies have jumped into two of the more challenging arenas in the U.S. renewable energy landscape.

The offshore wind industry has been slow to develop in the U.S., partly due to obstruction by Republican governors in control of Atlantic coast states. It’s no accident that the nation’s first commercial wind farm took shape off the coast of Rhode Island, where the political headwinds have been less challenging.

More recently, things have been looking up. Despite Trump’s professions of love for coal miners and his distaste for wind turbines, his administration has moved forward with offshore wind leases, and other wind energy initiatives.

Read more about energy dominance by Tina Casey at TriplePundit